As Aqua in Missing You, a “witchy-woo yoga teacher” caught up in the bonkers disappearance of her detective BFF’s fiancée, Mary Malone has delivered much-needed trans rep to the Harlan Coben Netflix Universe.
The five-part drama, packed with more mind-boggling Coben-esque twists and turns, has followed in the record-breaking footsteps of its Michelle Keegan-led predecessor Fool Me Once as it sits comfortably at number-one on the British streamer (it even dethroned Squid Game). With the global reach of Coben’s mysteries and the lack of trans representation across genres, Malone hopes to “empower” members of her community and “help make some change”.
“I’m aware that a lot of people are going to see this. But I’m really hopeful that people who maybe haven’t met a trans person before—or at least didn’t know they had—will get to meet Aqua and realise she’s just another girl,” Malone tells GAY TIMES. “I hope that challenges people who feel a certain way about people like me.”
As Missing You continues to dominate both Netflix and the cultural zeitgeist, we sat down with Mary Malone to discuss her groundbreaking portrayal of Aqua, how the series offers a more progressive take on her character than the book, and her dream of starring in the trans edition of Fleabag. (Warning: minor spoilers ahead for Missing You.)
Missing You is currently number-one on Netflix. What a way to ring in the New Year?
Yeah, number one! Not bad for the 2nd of January to wake up to. I went to bed on the 31st of December like, ‘Does my life change tomorrow? What’s in store for me?’ I thought maybe there’s a world where no one’s even going to notice me, or nothing’s going to happen. But bit by bit, the messages started trickling in. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure if I was going to watch it straight away or not, but I had some mates over, and I got my partner a projector for Christmas. He was like, ‘Why don’t we just put one episode on’ And there it is—my giant face on the wall! One episode turned into two, and then three and four. We watched it all in one day. It felt good to see it all with the people I love.
You can’t just watch one episode of a Harlan Coben show and call it a day. I did all five in a row.
My friends keep saying that too. But it’s true, right? It’s those moments that really get you, twists and turns everywhere. You’re constantly tripping over yourself, and you think one thing, but then you don’t. It’s just wild being with all my people—everyone clacking their nails, screaming, wagging their fingers, just gagging. It must be hilarious for them to see their friend in something like this.
In the past year alone you’ve gone from Doctor Who to the West End to Harlan Coben…
It’s been a rollercoaster! It’s funny because, in some ways, it’s been loads of stuff, but I can’t say I’m constantly getting tons of auditions. It can be pretty limited for trans actors in terms of being seen for things. But a lot of opportunities have come through—Doctor Who was just a dream, that was fantastic, though a smaller role than Missing You. But I learned a lot from that job. Then Fangirls was something I’d been involved with for a few years. It was a project I’d worked on, and it was amazing to see it come to fruition. Now Netflix—what the hell?
Take me back to the start. What was the process like in securing the role of Aqua?
It was surprisingly the smoothest audition process of my life, which makes me think, ‘Oh, maybe this is how it goes when you’re going to get the role.’ I loved Aqua straight away. She made this joke about black tourmaline, and since I’m a crystal girl, I was like, ‘Okay, I see her!’ I enjoyed the scenes, did a tape, sent it in, and then they saw me in person. It was super chill. I was finishing one of my shifts at the bar when I got a call from my agent. She was like, ‘It’s you. You’ve got the part.’ So it all happened pretty quickly and with very little stress, which was really refreshing. I come from a theatre background, where we do rounds and rounds for things, so yeah, that was nice. It was amazing getting that call. You dream of getting those calls.
What drew you to Aqua? You mentioned her spiritual side?
Yeah, for sure. I’m a bit witchy-woo myself. I’m all about the crystals. Aqua is described as this peppy, leisure-wear-obsessed and spiritual yoga teacher. I found that fun to receive, but it wasn’t until we started that I realised it’s so much more than that. There’s a lot of darkness, a lot of secrets, and a lot of mess. That complexity is a challenge, but also a gift, and I’m really grateful to have played a role like this. I guess it’s similar to watching the show, right? You start to realise there’s a lot more brewing under the surface than you first see.
And she isn’t just a side character, Aqua is integral to the story and how the mystery unfolds, which is refreshing to see.
She’s heavily woven in. I think Harlan, [screenwriter] Victoria [Asare-Archer], and everyone did a great job shaping Aqua into a real person. How refreshing, to have a trans character whose entire narrative and life don’t just revolve around their identity? I think that’s so rare, and I never see it. When the audition came through I was like, ‘Who’s this cis girl? Who is she?’ only to find out she’s a trans character, but we don’t necessarily focus on that. It’s so specific to me that only a trans actor could have played this part. That was nice—it was carved out for us; that role was always meant to be ours, but we don’t need to focus on her transness, which is just beautiful. Of course, being a trans person in the world, your identity is always living and breathing, and it affects everything. It’s woven into her experience. But maybe those who are trans will see parts of themselves in her, and I hope people who aren’t trans can also relate and connect with her.
This is probably a bit spoilery to say, but I love how the series ended on a very LGBTQIA+ note. Admittedly a tragic one, but very gay.
Totally. It was great. But it’s also weird for identity to be completely erased from something. It’s a fine line—you don’t want to talk about your identity all the time, but at the same time, you don’t want to pretend. It’s painful to erase how life really is for people like us. So it’s a hard balance. But for those later scenes, Victoria, Harlan, and everyone on the writing team really wanted my involvement. We spoke a lot about how to do it right. They were really focused on how we can protect trans audiences while also acknowledging things and making it authentic.
You worked with Trans+ On Screen for Missing You. Can you briefly discuss that initiative and how they supported you on set?
It’s happening more and more, and I knew I wanted as much support as I could on set. From experience, it’s already hard to be on set, let alone as a trans woman. I’ve had negative experiences in the past and had to fight my battles, but I thought, ‘What if there was someone there to have the hard conversations for me? Someone to be a buffer, a shield, to answer the questions I don’t want to answer, and to look at scripts for me?’ At the end of the day, I’m an actor, and I don’t want to educate everyone about trans issues. Not that I’m opposed to collaborating—I always want to be involved—but sometimes, you just wish someone else could handle certain things. And that’s what Trans On Screen was for me.
Yasa, Elijah, Helios, and Olivia—my dream team, my trans squad. I’m sure they did a lot behind the scenes that I wasn’t aware of, but I know they looked at scripts and had conversations even before shooting. For me, mostly, it was about having a buddy on set, someone to hang out with. I get a lot of anxiety and imposter syndrome, so when I could look out and see the faces of Trans On Screen, it was like, ‘Okay, I’m not alone here. You’re all rooting for me, and this is for all of us.’ Normally, you don’t see many trans people on set, but seeing them there made it feel like a team effort.
It was actually vital for me. Netflix was really great about saying, ‘Oh, this helps you? Great. Let’s keep it going.’ Initially, the team was only meant to come on for stunt scenes and tricky moments, but I ended up having them there every day, and it changed everything for me. It allowed me to really enjoy the experience and just do my job. So, yeah, it was amazing. I hope more trans people can have access to support like that on set, and I hope I can continue to have that support in the future.
Coben’s book was released over ten years ago. How has the series updated the character of Aqua to be more progressive and authentic to the trans experience?
Aqua is probably the character who’s gone through the most transformation. I did some research on the book when I was auditioning. I was told that everything was changing for Aqua, which sounded great to me. As we went on, I realised it was best not to get too stuck in the book and just focus on the script and the new Aqua, and on what I was bringing to her as Mary. It was a gift to have the freedom to recreate a character like that. I think we landed Aqua in a steadier place with her gender identity, which is always helpful when you cast trans women to play trans characters. We created a really real, fun, optimistic character, but also a dark and messy one. I really admire Harlan and the team for acknowledging who Aqua was before and letting me know with confidence that we were going to change that. They really owned it.
It’s a great example of how easy it is to make change and represent trans people better in TV and film. You can just talk to trans people, get the information you need, and make the change. It’s an awkward journey for trans people being in the mainstream, being on TV screens. There’ll be bumps along the way, and sometimes we’ll get things wrong, but I don’t want that to stop us. People shouldn’t be afraid to do the work and ask the questions. Together, we’ll get it right.
There will be millions of cis-het viewers who aren’t familiar with trans issues tuning in to Missing You. What kind of impact do you think Aqua will have on those people?
I have thought about this because I’m a trans woman living in the UK, and life is already a series of hurdles—watching my back, shifting through spaces, and trying to feel safe. So, of course, I’ve been aware that a lot of people are going to see this. But I’m really hopeful that people who maybe haven’t met a trans person before—or at least didn’t know they had—will get to meet Aqua and realise she’s just another girl. I hope that challenges people who feel a certain way about people like me. In general, I think the way I can make change is through my work. Acting is my expertise, and I hope by telling stories that put trans people in a good light, I can help make some change. I’m really hopeful for that.
What kind of response have you witnessed from viewers who are also of the trans experience?
People seem really thrilled to see themselves on a platform like this. It’s really nice queering Harlan Coben, and I’m kind of here for it. Everyone was already watching [Coben’s series on Netflix], but now the queer community can get involved in a way they maybe weren’t before. Now, we can all tune in and enjoy. And, of course, I want to change the world and challenge cis people who are afraid of trans people, but really, I just want trans people to have a good time, see themselves on television, feel empowered, and realise they can do anything, take up space, and love themselves. That’s way more important to me.
So, now that you’ve done sci-fi, theatre and murder mystery, what’s next?
Nothing I can tell you about right now, but definitely watch this space. I’m noticing a little voice in me that has, sort of, come out and I’m like, ‘This is the dream.’ Then, there is a little voice that says, ‘Do we dare dream bigger?’ I would love more roles at this level, but I’d also love to lead something. It was so fun diving into Aqua and all that drama, but I want a role that’s less drama and more comedy. Maybe one where a lead really connects to the audience, like a Fleabag vibe. I’d love to watch something where there’s a trans woman and we’re really following her and connecting with her. I love being a clown and messing around. I’m really just riding the wave… we’ll see what’s next!
Missing You is now streaming on Netflix.
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